– CHAEL SONNEN VS. YUSHIN OKAMI AT UFC 104

BY MMAWeekly.com Staff
Middleweights Chael Sonnen and Yushin Okami will square off at UFC 104 on Oct. 24 in Los Angeles.

The announcement was made Friday via UFC Japan, the promotion’s Japanese language website.

Sonnen (21-10-1) last fought on short notice at UFC 98 against Dan Miller when Team Quest teammate Ed Herman pulled out of the fight. Sonnen used his superior wrestling skills to carry a decision, though he later apologized for the bout’s lack of action. The win was his first since migrating from the WEC’s shuttered middleweight division, where he won the lighter weight promotion’s unofficial middleweight title by defeating Paulo Filho last November. Sonnen is 2-3 in UFC competition.

Okami (23-4) has been inactive since last December, when he battled ground wiz Dean Lister to a tedious decision victory. Long considered the unofficial heir to a middleweight title shot – Okami holds a disqualification victory over Silva in January 2006 – the Japanese fighter has faced criticism over his ground and pound style, prompting charges he has been passed over for a title shot. However, he has been defeated just once in the Octagon, a decision loss to Rich Franklin in June 2007.